Caution stop signal



July 7, 1942.

D. J. SANTORA CAUTION STOP SIGNAL Filed Sept. 11, 1959 EMEEBE pxl aniara/ ATTORNEYS WITNESS Patented J-uly 7, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlca I time: 3:22 smmu.

Daniel J. Santora, we; couiimwood, N. J. Application September 11, 1939, Serial No. 294,357 1 Claim. (oil 177-339) This invention relates to an illuminable combined caution and stop signal for. automobiles and other vehicles, the prime object being to profirst illuminated with a momentary flash and the stop signal illuminated in quick succession and remain illuminated until the foot pedal or, other brake-actuating element is restored to its normal position and the brakes accordingly released.

with the foregoing principal object and other particular objects and advantages to be attained,

, as will hereinafter more fully appear, the invention consistsin the general construction and in the particular parts and combinations and arrangements of parts ashereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing illustrating a practical adaptation .of the invention, in'which- I having the word stop or equivalent indicia thereon, as atl. i i

It is here notedthat in addition to the different distinctive indicia on the illuminable panels 4 and l as just above'described, the caution panel 4 ispreferably colored in yellow and the stop panel in red to iurtherdistinguish them one from the other.

Within the casing 3 ma conventional electric lamp bulb ill, or, obviously, a plurality thereof if desired or necessary, and in each of the circular housings 1 is a similar lamp II, the re- .spective lamps l0 and if being normally unlighted but being sequentially lighted when the foot pedal or brake-actuating element, designated by the numeral I2, is moved to brake-setting position, as will be later more fullydescribed.

Figurel is a view, infront elevation, of the signal unit proper;

Figure 2 is a view on an enlarged scale, partly in longitudinal section of the housing portions of the signal unit, showing details of the contained switch elements and the electrical circuits being illustrated in diagram, together with a conventional illustration of the foot pedal or brake controlling and actuating element; and

Figure 3 is an elevational view of a modified form of signal unit. I

f Referring now tothe drawing the numeral I designates a bracket plate which is elongated and generally rectangular in form andprovided near its opposite ends with longitudinal slots 2 for the reception of bolts or other fastening elements for the attachment of the plate to the vehicle frame or body in the usual manner, and

said slots'2 being also usable for the attachment of the conventional license plate to theplate l.

Attached to the upper middle portion of the plate I, in any approved manner, is a rectangular casingj 2 provided with an illuminable front panel I having .the word cautionf or equivalent indicia thereon, as at 5 Connected to the opposite ends of the casing 3,

" by, tubular neck members'iare circularcasings I. each provided with an illuminable' front panel one side of the lamp Ill-by a wire 16, a ground wire," being connected to the opposite side of the lamp. l

The opposed contact member i4 is mounted on an insulated support It and has a circuit wire I! attached at one end thereto, said circuit wire is being branched,-one branch 19 thereof being passed through one of the neck members 6 into the adjoining circular housing land connected to one side of the contained lamp H and aground wire 20 being connected to the opposite side of said lamp H. The other branch 19 of said circuit wire i9 is carried intothe opposite acircular housing 1 and connected to oneiside of the contained lamp II and a groundiwire 2| is connected to the opposite side of thelamp.

A snap switch element 22 ispivotallymounted, as at 23, on an insulated support carried by a-longitudinal supporting plate or false bottom ,25 located in thecasing 3 just above the bottom proper thereof. The upper contacting end portion 26 of said switch element 22 extends between the two terminal contact members l3 and M and is normally held in contact with the one member 13 by a spring 21 extending diagonallybetween an intermediate body portion of saidswitchelcment 22 and an anchoring stud 28 which projects upwardly from the insulated support 24.

A circuit branch wire 29is electrically connected at one end to the snap-switch element 22 andat its opposite end to an electrical connectjing post v3|] provided on an insulated Supporting bracket 3| mounted within the casing 3, preferthe magnet 40 is energized, the

.spring 45 and the respective ably on the bottom thereof, as shown. From said connecting post 30 a circuit wire 82 leads out through an opening "provided in the bottom of the casing 3 and is connected to a terminal contact member 24,which latter is engageabie by a normally disengaged contact member 35 carried by, but insulated from, the foot pedal l2 or other brake-actuating element, as the case may be. The contact member 35 on the foot pedal or brake-actuating element I2 is connected by a wire 36 to a conventional battery or other source of electrical energy 31 which is grounded through a wire 28.

From the connecting post 30 a branch circuit wire 39 leads to a relay magnet which is grounded through a wire 4|, the magnet 40 being thus in the same circuit with the snap switch element 22 and is controlled by the foot pedal or brake-actuating element l2 carrying the contact member 35 in cooperative relation to the terminal contact member 34 for closing the circuit when the brakes are applied and breaking the circuit when the brakes are released.

Pivotally mounted, as at 42, on an insulated supporting base 43, is an armature 44 which is drawn toward the magnet 40 when the latter is energized, said armature 44 being held normally away from the magnet 40 by a spring 45 which is connected at one end to an insulated stud 46 on the armature and at its opposite end directly to the snap swilch element 22. The spring -45 is somewhat stronger than the spring 21, which latter, through its connection to the switch element 22 and the anchoring stud 28, together with the connection between said switch element 22 and armature 44 afforded by the stronger spring 45, holds the switch element normally in yieldable contact with the 'terminal member l3 and the armature 44 away from the magnet 40, which, as hereinabove described, is the normal position of the armature. However, when thereby attracted and as it moves toward the magnet the spring 45 pulls the snap switch element 22 away from the terminal contact mem-- ber l3 and into engagement terminal contact member l4, the weaker spring 21 yielding to this movement of the switch element 22 and the normal length of the stronger distances between 4 and between the with the opposite the contact members l3 and I armature 44 and magnet 40 being proportioned so that the upper contact portion 25 of the switch element 22 engages the terminal contact member I 4 before the armature 44 has reached the limit of its movement toward the magnet 40. The spring 45 is thereby slightly stretched and thus placed under tension sumcient to hold the switch element 22 steadily in engagement with the terminal contact member l4 until the magnet 40 is tie-energized and thus assuring thecontinuous lighting of the lamps II in the stop signal casings 1 while the switch element 22 is in engagement with the terminal coni'act l4 and during which time the brakes on the ve- "hicle are applied.

From the foregoing described construction and controlled circuit arrangements, it isreadily apparent that, upon actuation of a foot pedal or brake-controlling element 12 to set the brakes, the contact member 25 on said element l2 moves into engagement with the circuit terminal contact member 34, thereby closing the circuit through the lamp It in the caution signal casing 2 and illuminating the panel 4 of said casing.

armature 44 is the circuit through the when the circuit is thus closed through the lamp III the magnet 44 is energised, and the armsture 44 being thereby attracted, the switch element 22 is pulled into engagement with the terminal contact member I4, thereby breaking lamp II and closing the branched circuits is and I through the lamps II in the stop signal casings 1, whereby the panels I of both stop signal casings I are illuminated and so continue until the driver of the vehicle releases the foot pedal or brake-controlling element l2 and the contact member 35 on said element l2 has moved out of engagement with the circuit terminal contact member 24, upon the accurrence of which the spring 21 snaps the switch element 22 back into engagement with the terminal contact I! and simultaneously restores the armature 44 to its normal position away from the magnet 40.

Obviously, due to the normal cooperative setting of the snap switch element 22 and the armature 44 and the arrangement of the springs 21 and 45, there is a slight delayed action in the movement of the switch element 22 from engagement with the terminal contact it into engagement with the opposite terminal contact member l4, and, even though the energization of the magnet 40 is substantially instantaneous with the closing of the circuit through the lamp in in the caution signal casing 2, the spacing of the terminal contact that there is a decided though only momentary flash of the caution signal just prior to the illumination of the stop signal while the switch element 22 is moving from the contact member I! to the opposite member l4. cases, if desired,- a special retarded though rather quick acting relay may be substituted for the conventional relay herein illustrated and described so as to attain the same effect, that of displaying the caution signal momentarily before the illumination of the stop signal. There is a material advantage in this, in that the initial flashing of the caution signal brings to the attention of a following driver more swiftly and directly the movements of the vehicle in front of him. So, too, there is an added measure of safety in the elongation of the safety signal casing and consequent enlargement of the display area of the illuminable panel in proportion to the diameter and display area of the stop signal tion I". As shown, the plate portion I is provided with longitudinal slots 2- in its opposite end portions similar to,and for the same purposes as the slots 2 in the bracket plate I of the first herein described structure. Other than as shown and described, the arrangement and operation of parts is the same in both structures.

It is here pointed out that provision is obviously made in the mounting of the terminal contact member 24 whereby said member is resiliently supported so as to be yieldable and permit ample continued movement of the foot pedal or brakemembers I3 and I4 is such However, in some controlling element I! after the contact member 35 carried by the latter has engaged said contact member 34 during the actuation of the foot pedal or brake-controlling element to apply the brakes, which provision may he obviously conventional and it is therefore deemed unnecessary to illustrate the same in detail in the drawing.

While the herein illustrated and described sigspaced contacts, one for the caution light and the other for the stop lightpa pivoted switch" element between said contacts, a'spring for nor-1 mally holding the switch element in ,contact with the light contact, an electric circuit connected to the switch element, a relay magnet in said nal unit structures and arrangement of corre lated controlling and operating parts embody practical adaptations of the invention, it is obvious that considerable modification may be made therein without departing from the spirit and,

scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown.

What is claimed is:

A combination signal light for vehicles, comprising a housing having a cautionsignal light and a stop signal light therein, two considerably released. 20

circuit, a pivoted armature operated by the magnet, a spring connecting the armature and the DANIEL J. SANTORA. 

